All in Our Expectation – Jim Scudder Jr.

Today’s Scripture: For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

Often you will hear the phrase “famous last words” associated with someone who is about to do something that isn’t very smart. However, I love the last words of some famous men of God:

John Wesley – “Best of all, Christ is with us.”

A.J. Gordon – “Victory, victory!”

D.L. Moody – “This is my coronation day. It is the day I have been looking forward to for years.”

Christ is all in our expectation, even in the shadow of death. As we see in our Scripture passage, we have the expectation of the blessed hope of His glorious appearing in our lifetime. However, even if the Lord does not return in our lifetime and we do have to face the grave, we can still have a great expectation because He is all in death and after death.

You see, Christ is also all in Heaven. The theme of Heaven throughout all eternity is found in Revelation 5:12 – “…worthy is the Lamb that was slain…” The One Who redeemed us to God by His blood is worthy of all our praise, and we will forever be singing His praises.

This thought should encourage and strengthen us as we go through life. Christ is all, and in all. No matter what comes our way, whether life or death, He will be everything we need.